Inflatable pillows of various types have been known in the past as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 229,147 and Des. 190,548. In some cases, such pillows have been decorated to interest and amuse children. Also, noninflatable pillows, painted or otherwise decorated with the faces of storybook characters, have likewise been known in the past as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,961,668 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 160,223.
Unlike prior childrens' pillows, the pillow of this invention not only provides resilient support for a child's head but also constitutes an amusement device which stimulates a child's imagination and performs entertaining movements in response to the application, removal, and alteration of forces exerted by the child's head upon the pillow. Specifically, as the child rests his head upon the lower jaw of the animal pillow, or removes his head from that lower jaw, the displacement of air within the pillow produces noticeable changes in the relative position of the upper jaw of the pillow. A child's excitement or amusement in placing his head in the mouth of a friendly tiger, lion, crocodile, or other simulated animal is therefore enhanced by the jaw movements of that animal when such activity takes place.
Briefly, the pillow is formed of elastomeric sheet material and is shaped and decorated to simulate the head of an animal having its mouth fully open. The pillow is airinflated, the air being disposed in a chamber which extends through the head and into the upper and lower jaws thereof. The upper jaw and nose of the animal angle upwardly, whereas the lower jaw, with its generally flat bottom surface, is adapted to rest on any suitable support surface such as a bed or floor. Dimensions may vary considerably, depending on the particular animal used as a model for the pillow; however, the open mouth of the animal must be large enough to accommodate a child's head when the child places his head on the inflated lower jaw and, preferably, directly on the upwardly-bulging tongue of the lower jaw. Air displaced from the chin portion of the lower jaw travels rearwardly to increase pressure and alter the dimensions in other portions of the pillow, and such displacement thereby produces some flexing movement of the animal's upper jaw. Such flexing movement, which results in a partial opening or closing movement of the mouth of the animal pillow, tends to interest and delight children of all ages.
In the best mode presently known for practicing the invention, the inflatable pillow includes at least one internal partition which separates the interior of the pillow into a plurality of compartments. Such compartments preferably communicate with each other through bleed ports in the pillow. Thus, inflation of one compartment necessarily results in inflation of all compartments. The partition also tends to reinforce the pillow and, to the extent that its apertures restrict air flow, the rate and/or extent of air displacement when the pillow is in use may be controlled by increasing or decreasing the number or size of the apertures during manufacture.
Other advantages and objects of the invention will become evident from the specification and drawings.